Proceedings of the First National Joint Conference of Librarians of Color - 322A

The Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) Grant Project at California State University Northridge (CSUN): A Case Study Katherine S. Dabbour Oviatt Library California State University Northridge Northridge, CA Abstract. The Oviatt Library at CSU Northridge received a five-year, $1.6 million U.S. Department of Education grant through the Title V, Developing HSI Program. The goal of the HSI grant project was to contribute to student success through strengthening monographic, serial, media, and archives collections related to Hispanic/Latino culture to encourage library use, and improve information competence. Lessons learned will be discussed from the perspective of a first-time federal grant author and project director. U.S. DEPT. OF EDUCATION, TITLE V DEVELOPING HSI PROGRAM GRANT The goal of the Department of Education’s HSI program grant is to improve the academic attainment of Hispanic/Latino students by assisting Hispanic Serving Institutions. A vocational school, college, or university can apply for the HSI designation if their enrollment is at least 25% Hispanic undergraduate full-time equivalent students and of that, at least 50% are considered lowincome by federal definition. The average HSI grant is approximately $500,000 over 5 years. Over 200 campuses in the United States and Puerto Rico have HSI grants. HSI funds may be used for activities such as the renovation of instructional facilities, faculty development, the purchase of scientific or laboratory equipment for educational purposes, funds and administrative management, development and improvement of academic programs, acquisition of equipment to strengthen funds management and academic programs, joint use of facilities, academic tutoring, counseling programs, student support services, and libraries. A word about the term “Hispanic”: I am using this term because it is what the Federal government uses. The official U.S. government definition of “Hispanic” refers to people whose origins are Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Hispanic/Latino, regardless of race. See Furthermore, the terms “Hispanic” or “Latino” are used interchangeably to reflect regional differences—“Hispanic” is commonly used in the eastern portion of the United States, whereas “Latino” is commonly used in the western portion. See “Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity,” Federal Register, Vol. 62, No. 280, October 30, 1997, p. 58,782. THE HSI PROGRAM GRANT AT CSUN The title of our project is “Improving Student Success through Strengthening Library Collections, Archives, and Information Competence.” It was budgeted at $1.6 million over five years (2002-2007), including $1,274,000 for salaries, benefits, and travel; $218,000 for library materials; and $119,000 for administrative costs, such as financial accounting, personnel services, etc. The budget is regularly adjusted for unanticipated costs, such as moving salary savings into archival preservation materials, which were not budgeted for originally. Objectives Of CSUN’s HSI Grant The objectives of the Library’s HSI grant project are: 1) Develop book, serial, 322A

http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hispanic/hispdef.html http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hispanic/hispdef.html

Proceedings of the First National Joint Conference of Librarians of Color

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